The White House used the social networking website Thursday to announce the event. The meeting will be held next Wednesday and focus on the U.S. economy and jobs.

President Obama's economic policies have come under increased scrutiny in recent months as the nation's unemployment rate has edged higher, to more than 9 percent, and data on the economy continues to be mixed.

The White House Twitter account invited followers to submit questions using the hashtag #AskObama. The president will respond to the questions in a live webcast.

Questions posted soon after the announcement touched on jobs, student loans, immigration, and the divisive issue of tax cuts for the wealthy.

Obama has demonstrated a fondness for using social media to reach the public since his 2008 election campaign. Earlier this year, he participated in a town hall meeting hosted by Facebook.

Obama's personal Twitter feed, on which he has recently personally started to post on, is now being managed by his 2012 campaign staff and currently boasts 8.9 million followers.